Whispering Verse

He spent the morning processing the registration matters. At noon, Shade took Mia home for lunch, then went to the Prophet's Association to find Luvia, and then asked for the "Eris Wool" he took out of the gift box last week. part of it.

He took the wool that was sealed in a silver box to prevent the bad luck from affecting him, and went to find Old John at the pawn shop. After explaining to the old man that he wanted to mix these wools with normal silk threads to make women's handkerchiefs, Old John looked at Shade suspiciously:

"I'm telling you, detective, you're not trying to use tricks off the field to win next week's game, are you?"

"Is it any wonder that there is no game in any year without stories off the field?"

Shade smiled and asked:

"The crafting fee is 5 pounds. I want it before Sunday night."

"I won't charge you for the crafting fee. I want information."

The old man lowered his voice and stretched his head slightly behind the counter:

"If a ring warlock like you wants to win through tricks, no one can stop you. Tell me, where do you want to be?"

Shade did not answer, but asked another question:

“What are my odds now?”

Old John laughed:

"Registration has just begun, and your odds fluctuate greatly. However, you have a very good reputation, and Louisa's novel boasts that you have superb cold weapon combat skills and riding skills. I think the final odds should be Stable at around 1:1.7."

"I thought people thought I was going to win."

"Detective, detective, don't be too careless. There are many good players in Tobesk. How about, where do you want to get? Be more steady, and settle for second or third in order not to be suspected. You should still be young and energetic. Must I get the first place?”

Shade stretched out his right index finger:

"Since I have entered the competition, I naturally want to win."

The old man nodded understandingly:

"That's it...I'm warning you, the Five Gods Church will definitely be invited to send representatives to observe the competition."

"I won't rely on the abilities of a ring wizard. I'm really proficient in riding and swordsmanship."

Shade emphasized, and the old man accepted Shade's wool:

"So you think you can definitely win? No problem. Come pick up the handkerchief you want on Sunday. The wool still needs to be processed before it can be used. I don't want to get myself into trouble. If one day I am in the newspaper I definitely wouldn’t recognize it if I saw it in the corner of the accident report photo.”

"I don't want to kill anyone, I just want to teach an uneducated guy a lesson."

Shade shook his head and was about to say goodbye and leave when Old John suddenly said again:

"I don't know if you've heard that humanoid relics have appeared in the city recently."

"oh?"

Shade stopped and turned to look at him:

"When Princess Margaret of Kasenlik visited Tobesk at the end of last autumn, didn't humanoid relics appear frequently in the city?"

He refers to the “keeper of secrets” who provides the test.

"It's different. This time it's very dangerous. It seems Schneider hasn't told you yet. There are two of them, both angel-level."

Talking about this, the old gentleman from [Guiding Light Hermitage] also became serious.

"What? Angel level? Two? In Tobesk City? Now? Oh, what's going on here?"

Shade looked back at the pawn shop window, worried that if he turned around he would see something strange looking at him on the street. But it's a pity that he is not the chosen one and will not suddenly be entangled in a strange fate. There is no one on the street outside now.

"Be careful yourself. One of the two angel-level humanoid relics is related to fate. Even I don't know what it is, but it is extremely dangerous. It may even be more than just angel level.

The other was born in the fifth era and was called [The Faceless Man], a man in his twenties who claimed that his younger brother was missing and was looking for him. His body has no facial features, but can take on the appearance of anyone he comes into contact with. The characteristics of this thing are very simple. He will frequently change into the appearance of others, and then use other people's identities, using methods consistent with that identity, through methods that are not limited to publishing newspaper advertisements, posting missing person notices, and going to the streets to ask passers-by. Looking for his brother. Once exposed to the information about his search for his brother but unable to provide an answer, even if he only read the newspaper news, he would be affected by the properties of the relic and die within three hours. What he spread was not a simple curse, the information he spread was itself a malicious force. "

The old man looked at Shade and understood that he also knew how difficult this kind of relic was:

"[The Faceless Man] has extremely strong stealth characteristics, and there is almost no way to quickly identify him in his hidden state. The church has begun to control the news and advertising content in newspapers published in the Tobesk area, and at the same time strictly inspects bards in taverns. Poet, prevent large-scale disasters from breaking out."

Because it is a way to find his brother that is "according to the identity of the person being replaced", there is no need to worry about the relic suddenly running out on the street and loudly asking everyone questions. Fortunately, this era does not yet have the convenient and fast information transmission methods that foreigners remember, otherwise the destructiveness of this relic would definitely not be as simple as it is now.

"In addition to the almost curse-like characteristics, is the opponent's combat power very strong?"

Shade asked again.

"Yes."

The old man nodded:

"The way to deal with him is to wait. Every time he appears, he will punish himself as time goes by because he cannot find his brother, that is, bite his own body until he eats himself, thus forming self-containment. , and be reborn within a time period ranging from 10 to 200 years. The hidden identity of the other party cannot be revealed easily, otherwise this thing will go crazy and eat anything. Entities, energy, souls, and even concepts can be swallowed up briefly. He It’s nothing like those secret keepers last year, and contact with him is an extremely dangerous act in itself.”

"I remember."

Shade nodded and said worriedly:

"Tobesk has been peaceful all winter, is something going to happen again?"

"Don't worry too much. Even in the past, there would always be a similar major event every ten years or so."

Old John shook his head:

"You know about the Chosen Ones. Although the Chosen Ones of Balance, the Chosen Ones of Darkness, and the Chosen Ones of Knowledge and Wisdom have all had traces of their activities in this city, that is because Tobesk is an old continent. The most prosperous city and transportation hub in the north. I don’t think the appearance of the two humanoid relics this time is a sign of something big. Detective, let’s be more optimistic.”

Xia Deke was not optimistic at all.

After bidding farewell to Old John, Shade took a carriage to Carina Manor to inquire about the horse prepared for him. As for armor, although Tifa said this morning that he could use all the armor in Miss Carina's collection, and the duchess could even introduce him to an armorer in the city to buy a temporary set, Shade declined their kindness:

"I have my own set of armor, why not use that one."

What he planned to use was the golden armor that Miss Gothe sent him at the beginning of the Wind Rises Moon, which could be made into a lion shape.

The shape of the armor is very exaggerated, but if you remove the accessories such as chains and headgear, apart from the gold color, it actually looks pretty good. Shade had worn it for an interview at home. The armor fit perfectly, as if it was tailor-made for him, so there was no need to use other armor. The witch even made a joke, asking Shade to go to St. Byrons to borrow a unicorn for the competition and use illusions to cover the unicorn, but Shade refused:

"That's so unfair. It's very inappropriate to participate in the competition with my physical fitness. Now the armor needs to be ordinary, and the horses need to be ordinary."

The above was the conversation at the dining table in the morning. When Shade arrived at Carina Manor in the afternoon, the duchess and Tifa were not there, so he did not stay longer and returned home directly.

After spending this slightly boring Friday in this way, it was time for the group study meeting again on Saturday.

Last week, because Shade was recovering from a serious illness, the meeting location was changed to his home. But this time he had recovered, so the meeting place was still Dr. Schneider's clinic.

Because he received a reminder from the doctor on Friday night that the professors conducting background checks at the college would also show up this afternoon, so Shade put on his formal clothes in advance before taking Mia out.

He thought he was the first to arrive, but he didn't expect that when he saw the doctor at one o'clock, Priest Augustus, Luvia and Dorothy were also there.

Everyone was dressed formally, and this time the doctor didn't ask them again if they were ready.

There were three people in the group who came to conduct background checks on the correspondence course ring magicians. The doctor got the list in advance. They were Professor Andor from the School of Chemistry, Associate Professor Cospaia from the Theological School, and Mr. Lu En, the secretary of the Student Management Office.

The professor and his team appeared at the door of Schneider Psychological Clinic on time at 1:30 that afternoon. They had made an appointment in advance as patients, so the young doctor at the clinic took them directly to the reception room on the second floor.

Professor Andor was an old man who looked to be in his fifties. He was a little short and wore a black top hat. When Shade shook hands with him, he thought he had eleven or twelve rings. Associate Professor Cospaia and Mr. Luen, the secretary in charge of records, look relatively young, and even the secretary of the Student Management Office has a five-ring rating.

Dr. Schneider has planned out the order in which each person will be interviewed individually, and they will be interviewed in order according to the time of admission. Shade was the most junior member of the group, so he was ranked last.

Everyone's conversation time plan was thirty minutes, but except for Luvia, everyone ended their individual inquiries in more than twenty minutes. Luvia's questioning lasted for a full fifty minutes. She looked a little solemn when she came out, but among everyone, she should have been the one with the fewest questions.

When it was Shade's turn, it was already close to four o'clock in the afternoon.